Considering Viz tried this with their Ranma 1/2 and Maison Ikkoku releases, it went over for a while. I believe this is because anime was limited back then but if you tried that in this day and age, people will just go elsewhere to find the anime at cheaper/easier prices.

For me, the cost of in Japan in far far higher than most places in the US and to gauge their costs to ours would be sad.

I'd be very careful about how much I'd buy. Previewing a show before buying is the obvious process to go through.

I've become quite particular and discriminating about what I buy. Having gone through years where you couldn't get jack even on VHS on the USA market to holy crap everything is here but they want your unborn child for it in price and everything in between I am particular about what I get. I have a huge DVD collection myself and I'm very much a collector in that sense. I like not having to rely on an internet connection (when Comcast actually doesn't cut out when usage gets heavy in my apartment complex) and the quality that comes from a good legal copy with subs or dubs on the fly when I want it. I appreciate sites like Crunchyroll that takes the guessing out of the sea of mediocre anime and even introducing me to stuff I never would have otherwise put on my radar. That said I don't buy things I have no interest in rewatching. For most of you who have come to know my style of watching.. I marathon a LOT and I love rewatching things over and over. I do however have an issue with paying holy crap prices for it. Quite frankly I think it's greed. For every good series there are 30 bad ones that they want for the exact same price. Or worse.. a very good series that they want you having a second job just to be able to afford it. Anime just like any other form of entertainment is a luxury not a necessity. So I will wait until prices come down or I just don't own it. I don't freak out when I can't buy a series I've been wanting to watch for a long time but couldn't afford. I don't have to have it. Something taught to me by the years when I couldn't get it legal anyway. I think the Japanese mentality is that we have to have it now so zomg we are going to make you pay for it. Given how few companies exist now that produce anime.. that's not exactly a model to live by.

In today world I would pay up to $60 a disc like blu-ray and people saying that a blu ray is 25 gb think again right now you can have 50 gb and even 125gb on disc but yes most blu-ray players built before 2012 will not play those size disc. If I had the money I would go and import them, but Living in ca, USA is not the best place to live most of my money goes to paying student loans and living expenses like rent and food. Someone had said about not owning a car well if I did not have a car payment and insurance on top of that I would go and buy the box set and extra I could get my hands on. But that will not happen not any time soon. Everyone has their reasons not to buy or to buy or download it for a torrent or just to watch it here on CR. But when you have no savings and every penny going to loans totaling over $500 a month ya, you won't be buy a lot of anime. watch anime is like my fix to get away from all the problem in my life and its the only thing that will keep me sane. I am in anime for the reason that is fantasy and can daydream of being in the anime I like.

I do think that if they bring those price over here to the us the system will just disappear for that fact that most people will not be able to afford those price that I see for them being $500 for a 12 ep session. they will find other means of get that anime at a fraction of that cost.